Context

In this blog post I will be talking about the skills that I have challenged in this project, I will be looking at each section of the making of the film: pre, production and post. What I have done in each stage to put me out of my comfort zone.

Pre Production

For pre production I challenged myself by having to look at research about music videos. This was because I am doing a music video for my final major. This was different from other tasks where I would look at other films as inspiration rather than music videos. I also had to plan out a story I could tell without any speaking, due to the fact that it is a music video.

Production

For production I challenged myself by only having a few filming equipment at my disposal. That being a camera and two tripods. So I had to make the best out of it. With the fact that I didn’t have a big crew either and it was just me filming the scenes. I think that this has shown that I am able to work under pressure as well as making a quality product with relatively cheap equipment. I showed that I can also adapt to the situation, for example filming out of the boot of the car to keep up with the bike shots in the county lines. Rather than ordering experience equipment to keep the shot straight and not shaking.

This showed that I was able to improvise in this situation to still get what I want, but to much more cost effective technique.

Post production

I feel that I have tested myself by having super 8 film effect in my music video, having to adjust the colour wheel and making the colour curves different from the original. I also had to edit to the beat of the song. I have not had to do this before due to the fact that this was the first time that I made a music video. So this was a new rewarding experience to me.

In this blog post I have created two character profiles for both of my main actors. This describes some of the character’s background and beliefs with also how they act. I wanted to make this so I know more about the character’s so I am able to make a better film because I know more about their head space. I feel that it also provides good context for the character’s to jump from. In reflection I feel that I should have done this early before filming but I feel that doing it now will still be good because I am still editing.

Character profile: Luc’s character

Name of the character: Tyler

What year the character was born: 1999

Age: 17

Sex: Male

Dress: Casual, hippie

Social class: Lower middle class

What do they do as a job: No, currently a student

Where do they live: Reigate

Do they drive a car, what car or transport do they use? They use a mixture of public transport, Bus, train and cab

Issues affecting the character: Girlfriend troubles

What colour hair? Brown

What eyes colour the character has? Brown

How do they walk? With a pace, quite quickly. Almost if in a hurry

Relationship with other characters Not good, not sure why he just got dumped. Confused about why.

Ethnicity: White

Salary: Has none is a student

Character’s short-term goals in life: Get through college

Character’s long-term goals in life: To do something in the film industry

Strengths/Weaknesses

Introvert or Extrovert? Introvert

How does the character deal with anger? Ripping up posters

With sadness? Wanting to be alone

With conflict? Taking a step back not getting involved

With change? Difficulty, along time to sync in

What does the character want out of life? To be happy

Is religion or spirituality a part of this character’s life? No he is an atheist

Character profile: Sam’s character

Name of the character: Rachel

What year the character was born: 1999

Age: 17

Sex: Female

Dress: Stylish

Social class: Upper middle class

What do they do as a job: No, currently a student

Where do they live: Coulsdon

Do they drive a car, what car or transport do they use? They just passed their test

Issues affecting the character: Not happy with the current relationship she is in

What colour hair? Brown

What eyes colour the character has? Blue

How do they walk? Slow, taking their time

Relationship with other characters Not good, breaking up because not happy with the relationship

Ethnicity: White

Salary: Has none is a student

Character’s short-term goals in life: Get through college, later go to University

Character’s long-term goals in life: To do something in the music industry

Strengths/Weaknesses

Introvert or Extrovert? Extrovert

How does the character deal with anger? Not every well, resulting in shouting or getting panicked

With sadness? Wanting someone there, not being alone

With conflict? Resolving the issue there and then

With change? Doesn’t really bother her

What does the character want out of life? Wants to live to the fullness

Is religion or spirituality a part of this character’s life? Not sure and isn’t really bothered or cares.

In this blog post I will be talking about where I got the inspiration from to open my short film with a shaving scene. After looking at early short films by famous directors I stumbled upon on one of Martin Scorsese’s earliest works. This is the short film Big shave:

After watching it this gave me idea to start my short film with a shaving scene, as I needed a beginning scene with some diegetic sound in it because the rest of my film would have none. I thought that this would be a good way of doing it. Due to the fact that you could pick up the sound from razor and the water and have different sounds being played, experimenting with that aspect of recording. I also liked how the beginning was mainly all close ups. I would use this for the scene just having extreme close ups, not showing the character’s face until he uses the towel.

I also liked how I would be paying a small nod to Martin’s work. But only a very few would get the connection. I also found it to be helpful looking at famous director’s films seeing how they started their careers.

In the this blog I will be talking about all of the videos I will be looking at to help to make the different editing techniques in post production. I will talking about each why I have chosen and where I might want to place the effect. With also saying what videos are and better than others.

The first video I will be talking about is the VHS effect that I will be using. This video shows how to make a realistic VHS effect from HD footage. This video is very informative and has alot of detailed steps, while still being easy to follow. I have since experimented with this technique by using a random clip online, making sure that the video is good and accurate. I can confirm that it is, and is an effect I can make very easily. I will be using this effect for the flashback girlfriend scene of the video, where Luc looks back on the relationship. I will be trying to copy the VHS shots from the nikes music video, by Frank Ocean.

This is a cool video that I fell upon in the recommended tab. This video talks about a few cool music video effects which are easy to make. I have had a look at a few and I feel that I may be able to place I few of these into my music video. Namely the film reel over the footage effect. I feel that this would be cool to add to the “I see both sides like Chanel,” scene where Luc holds up the cards. As it displays that it is going on in his head.

This is a video I will be looking at later down line with editing, to make sure that I can’t add anything else. This video is also by the same creator as the last one. With still being informative and very helpful.

The next video is for to make the text effect in after effects. I will be using this effect for the break up scene in my short film, having it to the side of Luc. This video is helpful however he is quite annoying and skips over a few of the things that help someone who is unsimilar to after effects.

I will still be looking at this one but I will make sure to not include the speech bubble around text as I feel it is too cliche and too obvious to use, much preferring to use normal text as seen in Sherlock. So far I feel that video is the weakest and probably the most likely one I will be ignoring when editing the effects over the clips.

This is similar to the VHS effect, due to the fact that it has a 4:3 ratio. However this is a more of a old film reel like, trying to copy the 8mm style. I was hoping to use this for Luc’s scene where he questions his identity. I feel that this would be good as the exposure difference with the effect would good well with the pink hoodie that look is wearing in the scene.

The difference between the 8mm film look and the VHS is that it more over exposed compared to the VHS which is more turned down. I might also use this effect for the flashback girlfriend scene as well. This video is also great with showing the tips in a quick but a easy way to follow. The 8mm film look effect will also skip some of the frames as well, giving it that more jumpy feel which I was aiming to get for the scene.

This is another video that I found in my recommended feed. This video is a breakdown of a music video and how to recreate some of the effects in post production. I really like this video as I really like the song and the music video that goes with it. So this was interesting to see some of the techniques they might of used.

This video goes in depth with the effects that the music video uses, explaining how to do most of them with also what camera equipment to use. I might try find a to include some of these effects in my video. Due to the fact that I feel they are really creative. I will be looking at this video more closely when everything else has been ticked off the list for the editing effects I definitely want to include.

This is the a video describing how to use the drawing pen tool in after effects. This is a very well made video showing how to use after effects to someone who is new to the program. Whilst also showing some context on how you could use it. He also shows some footage that he has made, showing you how it has turned out.

This video will help me make an outline around Luc when he is smoking towards the end of the short film. I will be using the effect pretty much the same way this person is the using the effect in the video. This is why I feel the video is good because it will help me directly with my problem.

This is the last video I will be talking about in this blog post. In this video, someone describes what’s the best way to set up the camera whilst also showing three ways of editing in post the video to make the time lapse. The way I am most likely going to do it is by filming a whole of bunch of film and then speeding it up in post. This is because I feel that it will be the easiest way and also take less space up on my camera. I may even edit the footage in post so that it just has one frame for every second, however this may take alot longer so I am going to see if I have enough time.

I will be using the timelapse for when Luc goes to sleep to show the passing of time, I will do from two angles. One of the Sun setting and the other of the Sun rising. This will display to the audience through a visual way that time has passed. I want to do this because film is a visual media and that is the main of my project.

Today I was thinking about my new idea so that it could fit into a song that hasn’t got any swear words or explicit language. I have come up with a similar idea to the previous but with an actual progression and story. This would be the music video to the song Seigfried from Frank Ocean’s Blonde album. Seigfried is a song about a break up love story, but it is heavily hinting at a male model of which Frank Ocean dated for a short duration.

For my idea for this song I wanted Luc (the actor I will be using,) to receive a text from his girlfriend that the relationship is over. And they are no longer together. This text effect, will be inspired by the Sherlock series effect. With the text not having a bubble around it and just on its own. I feel that this would be different from the normal cliche texting you see in films all the time.

In shock and not knowing what to do, he packs a bag with a sleeping bag and rides his bike. Trying to clear his head he finds a woods where he settles down to smoke a cigarette and lay the sleeping bag out. His Mother calls him and he just stares at the phone and doesn’t answer. He then camps the outside in the woods. He then rides his bike home the next morning to find his mum waiting outside the house for him. I will have slow motion shots of him lighting the cigarette and have some slow motion shots of him riding the bike up the hill to the woods. With also having editing effects around Luc, having some outlines around when smoking. Very much like this one below. I will also try and film lots of close ups, as this is a very personal story and the close ups in the short film will reflect that.

This would not be the only thing I will be filming. I will also have VHS footage of Luc and his girlfriend in the past relationship. As if he is looking back on the relationship. I will show that this is in the past by having it look like 8mm film or VHS footage. I will have also have shots of Luc with angel winged make up on randomly cut into the music video. This will demonstrate as if he is questioning his own sexuality and if he is bisexual. I feel that this will add a layer of depth as it will need to be interrupted to get the full meaning. I taken inspiration for this from the Frank Ocean music video Nikes, where he is seen throughout the video wearing make up and having glitter on his face. This is him trying to show his feminine side, which is something I would like to show in my music video.

However to improve my idea I want to expand upon the questioning of his own sexuality as I feel it’s more original and creative than having a break up story. So I may try to find more ways of including subtle hints to bisexuality. Either by having him hold up a sign saying “I see both sides like Chanel,” a reference to Frank Ocean’s song Chanel. Which is a song about bisexuality. Or something similar.

Aims for this project

My aims for this project is to make a music video which is visually interesting and tells us a story just through the visuals. Not relying on dialogue to tell every detail. I will do this by not having any spoken dialogue and have this instead be replaced by the music. I want the song to help tell the narrative I want to tell visually. Having the music support the visuals but take over and be overbearing. This is why I think it’s quite good that I have got quite a stripdown song. I would like to it also be similar to Frank Ocean’s other music videos having visual metaphors in the video.

What makes my new aims different is that I want to actually have a narrative story that people can be invested in. Which then I can jump from to expand my music video. I also like the fact that it is a very simple idea, meaning I can test myself in the technical aspects.

For the audience I am aiming for is pretty much everyone, as it really applies to everyone who has been through a bad relationship in the past. But I would also like it to appeal to Frank Ocean’s fans as there is a few visual references to his work in the music video. For genre I would say that my film is drama based, due to the fact that there isn’t a lot of action in the music video.

Reflecting on changing my idea

I feel that considering the fact that I had to change my idea half way through the project I feel that I have done it in considerable amount of time. Managing to get back on my feet and think of a new idea that will work for the FMP. I feel that my new also is alot better in comparison, this is due to the to fact that I feel the song works better and also I have a simple story I can expand upon.

I think this shows a good level of problem solving in a short amount of time. Meaning I am able to get back to making my short film. I am glad that I have kept the idea of having a Frank Ocean song as this is a major theme throughout my work filming up to the actual project. I am also still making my short film very visual, still only wanting to rely on visuals to tell the story. The reason I want to do this, is because film is a visual art form not a spoken or written one.

I feel that to avoid having to do this next time, changing my idea that is, I should have a few back up ideas that are similar to the main idea that I am running with. I should also not include any swear just to be on the safe side. Finally I feel that I should check with Elena as early as possible to check if my idea is suitable without leading it till the proposal hand in where she sees my idea for the first time.

I think what I should take away from this is that always be adaptable when making a film. As having to change something with the idea might work out for the better in the long run, with it actually improving my work. I feel that this has taught me always be prepared for idea constantly changing, even if you are three weeks away from the deadline. As this is just the nature of the film industry.

Posts navigation

Search

Search for:

Text Widget

This is a text widget, which allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. You can use them to display text, links, images, HTML, or a combination of these. Edit them in the Widget section of the Customizer.